Witnesses: Student Admitted Firing Shots

DOVER, Del. - A Delaware State University student accused of shooting two students last week admitted to firing shots and vowed to stay out of trouble if he got away with the shooting, according to court documents.

Loyer D. Braden, 18, appeared Friday at a preliminary hearing on charges of attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. A judge raised his bail from $75,000 to $92,000 after a prosecutor said the previous amount was woefully inadequate.

Braden, of East Orange, N.J., is accused of injuring two students early on Sept. 21 at a campus dining hall. The shootings followed a fight earlier in the week involving Braden, officials have said. He was arrested early Monday by Dover police and campus officers. He has been held at the Delaware Correctional Center since.

According to a police affidavit, a witness told police of meeting Braden two days after the shooting — after authorities determined Braden was a suspect — and listening while Braden talked about the incident.

"Braden told witness ... if he gets away with this shooting he would never do anything like this again," campus police Lt. Donald Baynard said in the affidavit.

Information in the affidavit, which had been heavily redacted, was unsealed Thursday by a Court of Common Pleas judge following a request by The Associated Press.

The affidavit also refers to a witness who saw Braden coming from the direction of the shooting and leaving in a green Pontiac Grand Prix. The car, registered to Braden's father in New Jersey, was found this week at the home of Braden's aunt near Salisbury, Md.

Another witness heard Braden say that he "fired several gunshots in the air to scare the victims," Baynard wrote in the affidavit.

Defense attorney James Liguori said Thursday he would not waive the preliminary hearing and would ask the court to review the state's probable cause information. Braden was being held at the Delaware Correctional Center in lieu of $75,000 bond.

Prosecutors have filed a motion to increase the amount of Braden's bail.

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